


Even in Sadness, Hope Springs to Life

by ProPinkist



Category: Tales of Berseria
Genre: Family, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, IDK HOW TO TAG HIM SO I JUST DIDN'T, Phi's sidequest is fantastic for himself but even moreso for Velvet, So here we are, additionally this has hints of RokuVel near the beginning because I love RokuVel okay, and a friend of mine liked this guy too even though he has literally 2 scenes, and this sidequest fueled it a lot, but I've somehow fallen in love with him in writing him help, idk i think it was his English voice acting; it made him really endearing, like there's so much angst potential there, starring a minor character who doesn't even have a name
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-01
Updated: 2017-08-01
Packaged: 2018-12-09 21:28:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11677425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ProPinkist/pseuds/ProPinkist
Summary: Laphicet successfully made the omega elixir to save his new friend from illness, and it affects Velvet in more ways than she can count. She finds some reassurance from a most unexpected source.





	Even in Sadness, Hope Springs to Life

**Author's Note:**

> Title is taken from a quote of Laphicet's. <3
> 
> So the Omega Elixir side quest in the game, aka Laphicet's side quest, is really great, and probably one of my favorites (nothing can top Zaveid's though). I love watching Phi throughout it, but what struck me even more was  
> Velvet's reactions to the situation in skits when she's talking to Rokurou. If you do the parts of this quest as soon as they're available, Velvet comes to the conclusion that her Laphicet chose the sacrifice himself because of his illness even before it's officially revealed in the main storyline (thus spoiling it, although I and everyone else I'm sure guessed this from the start), and I thought the way she and Rokurou talk about it was /really/ interesting. I wanted to expand on her thoughts about this, and also Videl's dad doesn't even have a name BUT he was a really interesting npc imo, more than Videl himself lol, and I wanted to use him more, so this was born. Hopefully Velvet feels in-character :'D annnd this is very long and I don't know how it got that long, haha... but that's my usual; I'm not sure how I feel about the ending? But feedback is appreciated as always~

It stung, just a little.

Velvet leaned against the wall in the upper hallway of Reneed’s inn, watching Laphicet and Videl talk animatedly with each other and Eizen; the younger malak had roped the older into telling them about some of his travels and things he had found, though at some point they had been drawn into Videl’s book again, Eizen interested in what he had discovered in it besides the information about the omega elixir. It was evening now; after they had managed to miraculously cure him, Videl’s father had called them all back and kept them from leaving, begging them to stay for dinner to thank them for what they had done. The majority of their group were obviously inclined to not agree to the offer, for as grateful as Videl’s father was, he was still an exorcist… But at Laphicet’s plea to remain just a little longer with his friend, Velvet had given in.

In the end, she supposed she was cautiously glad she had. Videl’s family were kind and hospitable people, and the warm and quiet and humble nature of their household resonated with Velvet, creeping into her heart and making it impossible for her not to enjoy herself despite her lingering tension. She knew the other adults were on edge as well, with Videl’s father; if he somehow didn’t figure out that they were the famed criminals just by their unorthodox appearances and mysterious behaviors, he would definitely put two and two together upon seeing Eleanor, since she doubted that a praetor wouldn’t know one of their fellow ones had turned traitor. …And yet, during their entire meal, while they talked of mindless things that tiptoed delicately around the reason for their current travels, which included vague talk of her favorite recipes, Laphicet and Videl explaining how they met each other (with an overwhelming amount of “thank you”s from the parents of the family), Magilou playing up her magician status and promising to show them tricks later, and Rokurou talking a little bit about his interest in swords (he was one of the few of them who could talk even mildly about his history without appearing as a straight-up criminal), she detected not a hint of suspicion from him; not a glance that lasted a little bit too long to be comfortable, nor a worrisome conversation statement, not one question about what Eleanor’s mission as an exorcist was with these strangers, whether he knew about the rumors or not, nor anything else that would have tipped them off that he was onto them. No, there was no hostility at all from Videl’s father, and he talked with them just as amicably and kindly as his mother and Videl himself did, which shouldn’t really have come as too much of a surprise, as he was the one to invite them in in the first place, but…

There wasn’t a single exorcist she had ever encountered, besides Eleanor now, that hadn’t wanted to cause them harm upon the very sight of them. …Well, that was, except for one, years ago, before that became no longer true as was the case now, and Velvet morbidly realized that the picture laid out before her was complete even with that kind exorcist, as with Videl, as if cruelly taunting her with the familiarity of what once was, and what could have continued to be.

Then again, she supposed it wouldn’t have anyway. Her brother couldn’t, and wouldn’t have been as lucky as Videl.

And part of that luck was thanks to her. It was ironic, for sure.

…But Laphicet, _Phi_ , looked happier than she had seen him in a while, with a friend his age, something he had never had a chance to have with the people he had been picked up by, them, that forced him into a life on the road full of trials and sorrow and tasks for someone beyond his years as a child, no matter how willing he was to go with them and no matter much happiness he found along the way as well; to speak nothing of his life with the Abbey before they captured him. She wanted this for him, not truly realizing this until she had seen how tightly and desperately he had hugged the boy he had only just gotten to know a little while ago once they he had saved him, his tears both grateful and sad, emotions pouring out of him that might have been built up from everything they had all been through so far, just waiting for a trigger to be broken free. Videl’s mother had joined the hug then as well, and Velvet had looked on, listening to Eleanor’s gentle small sobs off to the side, hearing Magilou’s giggle of satisfaction and catching Eizen’s small fond and soft smile out of the corner of her eye, as well as feeling Rokurou’s hand on her shoulder, which she did not try to shrug off or question like she normally would have.

As they had all made to come downstairs after the emotions had all been cried out, he had asked her quietly if she felt envious. She had retorted back the negative, saying that she was happy for them and nothing more, _grateful_ for this for Laphicet, and it was the truth. There was no place for envy in a situation like this, only gratefulness, and relief, and blessings, and pure unadulterated _catharsis_ , _emotion_ that a child’s pain and suffering was finally over, and not because of death, and she had no right to be envious, to want to take that for herself and take it away from this other innocent child and his equally innocent friend. To think that they could have been blessed with a miracle like that was foolish: they were too naïve, too optimistic, too poor and too out in the middle of nowhere, and too uneducated, despite everything her brother-in-law knew _(of course; he had known so much, **too** much, so much that he had hidden from them all), _ because neither of them could have known about this, even with all of Laphi’s books, too, and even if they _had_ known, they would have had no way to procure what was supposedly needed… and Seres had none of her prior memories; if she had, maybe that would have been enough to do it, to save her brother, but she didn’t, and so she wouldn’t have cried for him, and it was for all of these reasons that she could not delude herself into wishing for something that never would have been possible, even if it would have been beautiful to see Laphi truly healthy for the first time in his life, to see him out of bed, to see him be able to do things outdoors without tiring himself eventually, to see him be able to grow past age twelve and see him do _everything_ he had always wanted to do, just like Videl and Phi, to go with him and travel around the world with him and see everything there was to see, Arthur with them, the journey together perhaps soothing his aching and broken soul as much as it could be, or if by some second miracle _Celica_ was still alive as well, he and her would wait for them, wait for them to come back with stories of exotic places and people and incredible wonders and never-ending joy for the boy who could only dream of these things through books before, and they would come back to a new baby brother, and then perhaps one day _all_ of them would travel together yet again, and it would be the most incredible and blissful and wonderfully happy life for Laphi that she would ever imagine, _could_ imagine –

She had been drawn out of her dissociative state by Rokurou touching her shoulder again, him simply nodding in understanding, even though he looked as if he didn’t believe her, staring at her for a moment before heading downstairs and out of sight without another word.

Velvet had cursed herself, knowing that such selfless, preachy words did not befit her in the slightest; anyone who knew her would see right through it.

_“You’re strong, Velvet. You know that, right?”_

Of course she wasn’t. Maybe back then (but also naïve, and blindly in denial), but certainly not now.

Laphicet, though, wasn’t like her, Velvet thought as she watched him happily tell the other boy even more about where all he had been and the things he had seen, Eizen gamely chiming in whenever he felt like it (she had noticed earlier that he told them stories of his own with only the slightest hint of sadness in his eyes only occasionally, telling them what they were eager to hear despite any pain it might cause him now; it was easy to see how much he cared for and was kind towards children just as his former captain was, probably because of his sister), and what she had told Rokurou had not entirely been a lie to cover her weakness. She had wanted Videl to make it, for his own sake as well as his friend’s, and Laphicet was an unending pillar of hope and determination (like his namesake), and it didn’t feel too naïve or overly optimistic when it was him who believed what he believed. He was faced with a situation that could seemingly only end in the cruelest, most heartbreaking way possible, and yet he chose to carry onwards, push past all the odds and the fear and sadness and take fate into his own hands to save his friend, reach that miracle outcome that would be impossible for anyone other than him. Laphicet did not lose hope, despair against the impossible odds stacked against him and break down, even though it would have been perfectly understandable if he had; she had long since given up on Videl surviving, as bitter and cynical as she was now, but her acknowledgement of this only made him more fiercely determined, which had been exactly what she wanted, despite everything, knowing just who he was (he was a malak who could perform miracles, turning _daemons_ back into _humans_ ; if anyone could do this, he could). His determination to save his sickly friend, and her determination to “save” the soul of her sickly brother – they were two sides of the same coin, but for him, there was still a faint light at the end of the tunnel and a noble journey to get there; for her, there was no hope, and nothing noble about what she did. Velvet had long since accepted the path she had chosen, and the ending it would have… but even so, it gave her at least a small amount of comfort to see a happier ending, one that she had been unable to achieve for the person she had held most dear, but that someone else she loved had been able to give to someone he loved instead.

It was as if Laphi had been cured instead, as _Laphicet_ did what she could not, and as childish as it was, it brought her a sense of catharsis like nothing before had (Velvet wondered to herself, her throat tight, what Innominat would think if he saw this, and then wondered, brokenly, bitterly, heartbrokenly, morbidly, if Laphicet’s intense desire to cure the Twelve Year Sickness for his friend came from the person he was _a part of_ , (or, looking at it differently, the person he was related to… somehow that was even worse) who had held such a desire from the very first day he was old enough to realize his limitation).

Velvet greatly admired and was moved by Laphicet’s strength, and courage, and determination, and utter, utter, bravery. All the traits that Laphi had – all the traits that she did not.

She didn’t know how he might have been going forward if Videl had passed away, but even just knowing what she did know, she was confident that Laphicet would be all right no matter what became of her at the end of it all.

“Laphicet makes Videl so happy; I’ve never been more grateful.”

Velvet jumped a little at the sound of the voice nearby, turning her head slightly to see Videl’s father standing beside her, watching the sight she saw (Eleanor was talking to the innkeeper off to the side about something or another, and Rokurou and Magilou were presumably outside, nowhere to be found upstairs). He had taken his helmet off a long time ago, but he still wore his exorcist garb, and she still couldn’t help but instinctively tense up slightly upon laying her eyes on it, reassured as she had become by now.

“…Phi is a smart and kind soul,” she finally murmured, managing to regain her small, fond smile as she watched the boys play cards with Eizen. “I… wasn’t sure if he would succeed in this. But he did… and I’m glad, and not that surprised.”

“I-I am still not quite unable to comprehend that he went to all that trouble all for Videl,” the man next to her choked out, his voice cracking a bit as he pressed his fingers to his eyes, trying to regain his composure. “Diana and I, we have been anticipating the day… for Videl’s entire life from not long after he was born, and we found out that he… h-he…… It has been so hard, over these long years, that a-at the same time were not long enough… and yet I am loathe to admit that I was barely present for much of Videl’s life, leaving his care to my wife, along with her already exhausting job of running the inn. My own job keeps me busy, and we are well off because of it and the inn business… but it is no excuse to have been away from my son, out of a twisted desire to not have to see him in his continued suffering when I was powerless to help him. I-It was cruel of me, and selfish, and in the end I could not even manage to put together the miracle cure that Videl worked so _h-hard_ to discover… in the end, that boy did what I could not. A stranger went through so much danger… cared enough to do that for Videl, and be his companion. I-I am so touched… we all are.”

He sounded so remorseful for his actions, and so, so caring. An image of someone else entered her mind, of a man who never truly overcame his personal sorrow to love them with all of his being, who stabbed her brother through the chest for their own agenda and in order to cast all thought of him aside early so as to not have to grieve upon losing him when he inevitably slipped away on his own eventually, instead of supporting the two orphaned children through whatever would have happened, as the only family they had left.

_(she no longer thought of him as harshly as she had, but she still could not allow herself to think much otherwise for her own sake, else she have to grieve for the loss of him just as she had her sister and her brother)_

“…I’m sure Videl has always missed you, especially in his hardest moments,” Velvet still couldn’t help but say first, just a tiny bit bitter, though she kept watching the others again so she didn’t have to see how the man’s face surely flinched at her words. “…But you’re also strong to be able to do what you do so that your family is well off even though it means you’re away from them so much… and I imagine it provided some small amount of comfort, to be in a position where you could help, to do _anything_ to help… even if it was for someone else.”

Magilou would faint at hearing her defending an exorcist again, Velvet knew, and getting the words out in some ways was like eating nails, knowing _exactly_ how much the Abbey “ _helped”_ people. But it was still true, in some capacity, as much as she hated to admit it… and telling Videl’s father what she did, the words felt like déjà vu, her mind unwillingly thinking yet again about Arth - Artorius, whom she had made such a conclusion about back then as well, before he took it too far and did something he could never, ever take back.

“You are not wrong, I’m afraid,” Videl’s father replied quietly, his voice more stabilized now. “…I knew, deep down, that Videl needed my presence more than anything else, to support him… but I-I could not bear to look him in the eye during his bouts of sickness, knowing that I could do nothing to help him, knowing that he had no idea he was going to _d-die_ upon reaching age twelve…! …A-As an exorcist, I believed, perhaps I could discover _something_ with my job taking me everywhere it did, _anything_ , even just the tiniest s-scrap of hope… s-something we could not possibly know about in Reneed… Oh the irony in that I were to find what we were looking for right here after all, and discovered by Videl, no less.”

He smiled weakly, his eyes still shining a little as he watched his son and the others, and Velvet had to grit her teeth, his words hitting far closer to home than she liked.

“A noble goal, I can’t deny. Truly, an exorcist for the people through and through, as it should be…” She cut herself off quickly, realizing she was beginning to let her grudges show through, and went in a different direction. “…You may feel like you failed in achieving to make the omega elixir, but you were able to obtain all but one of the ingredients all by yourself. In the end, we found out that none of those were really needed at all – just a malak’s tears – but you found those four, in the midst of your work, and the last, actual needed ingredient was one you had no chance of getting yourself anyway, thanks to how exorcists control malakhim like dogs.” She did not attempt to hide her scorn at all on this point; he had to have known she would feel that way about it, knowing what Laphicet was and seeing how human he behaved. “You were lucky that the person who needed the leaf besides yourself was someone who was aiming to save the same person you were, but even if that hadn’t been the case, Videl would have been happy to know that you did as much as you did, as he was. And thanks to your generosity, realizing there was nothing else you could do, someone else out there would have been cured. …You had no other options, so you have no reason to feel guilty, on that front at least.”

Velvet paused, uncomfortable with how uncharacteristically reassuring she was being, before trailing on slowly. “…But I understand. Hope, miracles, are hard to come by. For one to be put in front of you, but then pulled just out of reach before you can grasp it… that would be the cruelest thing in the world.”

_(she never wanted to forget her anger and rage, but that didn’t mean she didn’t still wish the illusion had been real, deep down)_

“Laphicet… He is a malak,” Videl’s father stated, unsurprisingly focusing on the comment she had made earlier, and Velvet thought she detected the slightest hint of guilt in his voice. “He behaves just like a normal boy… and he gave Videl his blessing…”

“He _is_ a normal boy, and nothing more,” Velvet muttered before he could get emotional again. “…That being said, he’s also more extraordinary than I ever could have imagined;” her voice now regained some semblance of admiration, softening. “Phi will go on to do great things, I’m sure… but I hope he never loses what makes him him, again. Eizen is a malak as well, and we would be lost without such a knowledgeable and headstrong person to guide us, and Phi in particular.”

“You’re all very close, aren’t you? I could tell as much.”

Videl’s father was looking at her now, smiling a little, and she crossed her arms, allowing herself to agree. “…I suppose we are, at least in some ways. I never really expected for so many people to get involved with my… journey, but in the end, our goals all aligned, so it just happened to work out that way. We’re pretty different, but I think we’ve all gained at least something from each other. …Though I don’t think I’ll ever really understand Magilou, but as long as she’s having fun, I guess.”

The man next to her chuckled a little, turning back to the others. They both watched them for a few minutes, Eizen teaching them some complex card game that Velvet knew anyone besides those boys would be unable to completely grasp. _“Videl, are you tired? Should we stop playing since it’s getting late?”_ reached her ears, and then the other’s reply, _“No, I’m fine if you are! I’ve never felt better before, honest!”_ She bit her lip, toeing the ground with her shoe and trying not to let her mind wander to anything other than the thought that they would have to be leaving soon, late as it was.

“……You lost someone to the Twelve Year Sickness, didn’t you.”

The voice of Videl’s father was soft, and yet it sounded like a loud blaring in her ears, Velvet jumping at the suddenness of the statement, jerking her head towards him again, speechless. He was smiling at her sadly, ever so sadly, and with pity as well, of course, but also an additional emotion that had never accompanied the pity from the other villagers: empathy. It was the knowledge of that empathy that caused her to hold back from immediately internally shutting up, kept her from snapping something about assumptions (a lie) and privacy, and instead Velvet slowly looked away, shaken, angry with herself, and yet… something akin to relief, as well.

“I do not mean to invade your privacy,” Videl’s father said apologetically before she could say anything, having read her reactions. “It was simply a… feeling I had; if you do not wish to speak of it, that is entirely your right, and I am sorry for bringing it up.”

She was quiet for a long while, clenching her fists, until she finally managed to speak.

“Heh… You’re exactly right, I won’t hide it. There’s no reason to hide it… it’s all in the past now.” _(it was very much **not** in the past, and never would be, but she didn’t need to say that) _ “Nothing can bring him back… my brother… I poured everything I had into taking care of him, naïve and optimistic as I was, for both of our sakes, and in the end, he still died. …It wasn’t even the illness that killed him, but even so, it would have been soon, I know now. Yet I always believed, ignorant as I was, that one day he would be free to do everything he wanted to that he was held back from… the same aspirations Videl has, and Phi… would be free to spread his wings and fly. I believed, and I hoped, and I prayed, just like you all did… and in the end, none of that did a damn thing.”

Velvet felt a hand on her should, and she inhaled sharply, bristling, and forced herself to not shrug it off. She hardly knew this man, but she had a connection with him, one that she didn’t even have with the others, sympathetic and caring as they were, and so even she couldn’t ignore that.

“…I’m so sorry,” he said gently, squeezing slightly. “…Some things you said, and at dinner too… I could tell you were speaking from experience.”

“Yeah,” Velvet whispered hoarsely. “When Phi made a friend his age, I was glad for him, and when Videl brought up search for this “omega elixir”, I didn’t think much of it, and Phi wanted to help and it wouldn’t have interfered with what we were doing as we traveled, so I let him. …Then we came back here at some point, and Videl had a fever, saying it was common for him… I didn’t say it at the time, but I had the suspicion, a horrible feeling in my gut. The slight weakness in his voice, the paleness, these were already things I noticed, and the apparently almost always constant fever all but confirmed it for me. …And then, the next time we returned, Videl had found out for himself, in the book, because the very elixir he was trying to make came about precisely for that incurable disease.”

“That’s what Videl said earlier… that he f-found out on his own… I can’t even fathom how he must have felt, dear god…”

“Don’t feel bad for not telling him,” Velvet pushed on, biting out the words. “Better for him to be ignorant and for his death to come while he’s asleep and unknowing, than for him to know, and spend the rest of his short life counting down until his doom, not being able to enjoy what little freedom he has. I wasn’t aware of the truth of the Twelve Year Sickness when Laphi was alive, but if I had, I wouldn’t have told him for that very reason. …And because I believed neither of us knew, we were able to go on being as happy as we were despite his suffering, even if it all ended up being a fool’s errand in the end… since I eventually found out _I_ was the only one in the dark, the one played for a fool, while those around me went along with my blind optimism, preparing for the end for so long, while I knew _nothing_ ” _(the sad thing was that Arthur probably hid it from them knowing that she would take it the hardest of all, even harder than Laphi himself, and look what happened when_ he _found out? They_ both _went behind her back, making a decision that somehow was supposed to be **better** , to give his inevitable death a **purpose** , even though Laphi’s good-intentioned act had led to a world of emotionless people and enslaved malakhim and so many other horrors, all of which were so much the opposite from what he had wanted)_.

She heard him make a sound of distress beside her, and Velvet took a shaky breath, pain laced in her words as she continued.

“…Phi was so determined, so optimistic, courageously refusing to accept the inevitable, and it was difficult for me to believe that he could succeed, and believe that, even if he did manage to make the elixir, that some sort of miracle medicine even existed to cure that hell disease that in my experience could only ever be slightly alleviated, never truly gotten rid of. I’d seen what it could do, what it did to my poor brother: usually it was just the fevers, but with the worse ones came breathlessness, and aches, and vomiting, and chills that felt like being in ice water, or heat that felt like being on fire. Laphi was strong, but even he wasn’t strong enough to keep his brave face in the worst moments, and the same went for me; there were multiple times when I thought he was going to die right then and there.”

Vaguely, she felt bad for dredging up what had to be painfully familiar memories for the father next to her, but she couldn’t stop herself, the wound being ripped open again just as it had at the earthpulse, and her bitter emotions pouring out of her.

“…We barely even made it in time, to Videl. Watching it, watching him unconscious, watching Phi cry over him in fear… it was like I was reliving that nightmare that never left me _(the worst nightmare that still plagued her even now was the one from that night, always, but that didn’t mean she didn’t still dream of the other worst moments in Laphi’s life, the moments when she always thought this is it, this is when he’s going to die, this is when we’re going to lose him forever, please, anyone who’s listening,_ help him! _…But no one was ever there to help, and even if he always made it through, he could not, and did not, that last night, and still, no one appeared to save them; rather, the cruel opposite happened)_ … I thought Phi was going to lose someone dear to him right in front of him, just like I had… and I… I wanted him to save your son. I _wanted_ it, wanted to see just one child saved from that illness, even if it just one… even if… even if it wasn’t……”

Her voice trailed off, breaking into nothing, and she was again made aware of his touch on her. Looking at him, Velvet’s chest tightened, and she hated how weak she felt, even as much as she appreciated his kindness and empathy, because all she could see with that exorcist uniform was **_him_** , her relative who had been nothing but kind to her as well back then, _before_ , and it made her want to scream, scream at the knowledge that the man in front of her was one of _his_ followers, ignorant to the true machinations of the Abbey, not aware of the fact that he could one day be one of those people forced to fuse with his malak and die from the strain, especially as a praetor… He was an exorcist, but his intentions were nothing but good, and she embraced his kindness but at the same time she could hardly stand it, because all she could think about when she looked at him and how he was interacting with her now was her brother-in-law, the man who had undeniably been a father figure to her to her and Laphi after the loss of their sister, the _exorcist_ who kept their tiny household afloat, the _exorcist_ who was _kind_ to them and _cared_ for them and _loved_ them through his grief (he could have done better, could have been less distant, but she didn’t think that at the time, and she only thought that now upon realizing this fact precisely because of what everything culminated in, with him destroying their lives as a broken, broken man), and the exorcist who turned his back on all of that kindness and love and care and sympathy and empathy with a single action, in a single night, as if it was nothing (it wasn’t nothing to him, deep down, but he made it seem as if it was, so terribly so).

She wished Artorius had stayed like this man. She wished he could have been strong enough to take action and do good in this world in order to overcome his sorrow just like Videl’s father had, in a way that wasn’t so drastic and cost them so dearly in the process, casting them aside, literally, as if they had no place in the world he wanted to create.

“And Laphicet succeeded,” Videl’s father reassured her, squeezing her shoulder; he looked as if he wanted to extend more of a comforting gesture, but didn’t as to respect her boundaries, and she was grateful. “He saved Videl’s life, bringing about the first ever recorded case of someone surviving that disease, I’m sure, and turned our world around with one, simple, k-kind, selfless gesture…” The man paused for a moment to wipe his eye, breathing shakily and smiling sadly at her. “…But I am sorry you had to see this. I’m sorry for your loss… I will not blame you if you find my words meaningless or hollow, especially since we are on the opposite side now, but I grieve for your brother just as I would have for Videl – no, as I did already for years now: no child should have to endure such heartbreaking suffering. …And I promise you, everything you did for him was not pointless: it meant something to him, and to you, no matter the outcome. I know that Diana and I would still feel this way even if we had lost Videl. …I did not know your brother, but I know this for a fact, as a father.”

“………Thanks,” Velvet finally managed, such appreciation something she wasn’t used to voicing, her mind screaming at the irony of his words about children not deserving to suffer when the very organization he was a part of was planning to make sure that every single child and other person on the continent would suffer eternally in a way that was somehow even worse (he must have somehow not known yet, despite being a praetor, that large portions of the continent were now filled with people now emotionless zombies who were slowly destroying their lives all on their own; she morbidly wondered what he would think if she told him). “…In the end, I’m happy.” She watched the boys laugh, feeling her eyes getting hot, such a rarity for her now, and didn’t bother trying to hide it, not having the energy to. “I’m happy… for Phi, and for Videl… I-I’m selfish, so I wish it w-was Laphi instead… but I’m still happy. …I hope… I hope that Videl… will travel the world like he wants to, and explore, and learn new things, just like my brother dreamed about doing more than anything else… I hope he lives out the life… my brother could not _(just like Phi)_.”

“He will, Velvet. We will both make sure of it.”

Such simple words made her feel ludicrously comforted, and Velvet tried to smile at him, letting him keep his hand on her shoulder in reassurance, her eyes shining as she kept watching Laphicet and Videl. She never let herself be vulnerable, and there was no one in their group who could rightly be called anything more intimate than a mentor (and only for Phi; never for herself), but somehow, this man who had been nothing but a stranger to a few hours ago, who still should have been one, had a soothing presence to him that brought out deeply-buried feelings in a different (less volatile, and more reassuring and comforting) way than what had happened at the earthpulse had, and Velvet found herself grateful for him, for Videl, for what Phi had done, more sure now of her feelings after talking with the person she was with now. It still hurt, and she was still envious, no matter how much she tried to deny it, human as she was. But at the same time, she was glad, and grateful. She didn’t know she needed something like this, but it healed as much as it hurt, and Velvet hoped that once they rid the world of Innominat ~~(and Artorius)~~ , the restored world would also be rid of the Twelve Year Sickness as well, and any other incurable illness, thanks to this knowledge that someone, if not Phi, would pass on to the rest of the world.

She would put her brother’s soul to rest by killing Innominat and his murderer, but in this way, as well.

“You’re a strong, brave girl. …I never in my wildest dreams expected that the Lord of Calamity would be someone like you.”

Velvet froze.

The proceeding silence only lasted a moment, but it felt like an eternity, as all positive thoughts left her mind and Velvet seized up, her mind on high alert as she furtively calculated what her best course of action would be. Of _course_ he had figured out long ago, there was no way he wasn’t intelligent enough to not have; such a ragtag and suspicious looking group could only be the Lord of Calamity’s, not to mention how suspicious the topics they chose to speak of and avoid at dinner had to seem. The only question was why he hadn’t done something right away, but perhaps he wanted to make her trust him first by using the poignant and rare thing they had in common to connect with her, making her let her guard down and relax; she knew Videl was kind enough, not knowing who exactly they were when they first met but knowing that they were wanted and deciding to protect them anyway, and his father seemed just as kind… but he was an exorcist, and he had an obligation to his job, to his duty to protect the people, and no matter what impression they gave off to him and his family, no matter what _miracle_ they gave his son, if he thought they were causing danger to the world based on what he had heard, not knowing what the Abbey was truly trying to do and that _they_ were trying to _stop_ it, that would be enough for him to try to turn them in. Exorcists were traitors, she thought wryly in her mind, both traitors to them and traitors against them, so she should have been prepared, no matter what, and she _had_ been, but he had been so _kind_ and supportive and _grateful_ and _empathetic_ to her loss, and she had been unable to not accept those emotions, just like she had been unable to fall into the trap of her brother supposedly being alive in the illusionary Aball, and she saw Arthur in him, the Arthur before he was cold and traitorous and uncaring and _murderous_ , and so she had latched onto him, childishly, as well as because of her very specific pain that he understood all too well. It was because of all that that even still, she didn’t want to kill him, especially in front of his wife and son, but maybe she could incapacitate him in some way, quickly, before he could even realize it, and thus signal to Phi and Eizen and Eleanor that they needed to _go_ ; Videl would be hurt and so would Phi, but it was their only choice, and even if they didn’t get to say goodbye to each other, she and Phi would be content with knowing that they were able to save his friend’s life. No matter what, they had to leave, before the man made his move, or before the move that he had possibly already made descended down upon them and it would be too late to avoid bloodshed; it sucked, but she had to do something _now_ –

“Velvet, I am not going to do anything.”

She hissed slightly in a knee-jerk reaction, feeling his hand now holding her bandaged arm. Turning her head slowly, tensely, suspiciously, towards him, her body still ready to move at a moment’s notice, she looked at his face, where his expression was open and not hostile at all. He released his hold after a moment, perhaps realizing that she didn’t like it, and she relaxed ever-so-slightly. They had been talking in hushed tones this entire time, so despite the intensity of the situation, the other people at the other end of the upstairs landing still hadn’t noticed, preoccupied with their own chats still.

“……Why would you reveal that you know who we are if you weren’t going to do anything to us?” Velvet finally said slowly after a moment, eyes squinted. “You’ve certainly known this entire time…”

“I have. But I’m not going to turn you in. You have my sincere word as an exorcist.”

Velvet barked out a laugh. “I have your word as an _exorcist_? There’s irony in that statement, for sure. Sad to say, but exorcists are the people I trust the least in my life now, so I’d ask that you give me a little more than that. I know you’re honorable, so what’s stopping you from capturing the people the entire Abbey is bending over backwards to try to reign in? And don’t just say it’s because you’re fond of us now because of what we did for you all; you prioritized your job’s duty over your family when you gave that leaf to Phi, so I know you would serve justice to us in a heartbeat if you know even a fraction of what we’ve done.”

“I have heard things, yes,” Videl’s father said, his voice and face serious. “You’ve scattered towns, ransacked some, and in general spread fear throughout the people as a daemon who would bring chaos upon Midgand. Two of our high-ranking praetors, and all our of legates sans Lord Artorius, seem to have vanished as well, one by one, and I have little faith that they are still alive by this point… except for Eleanor Hume, of course.”

Unconsciously, she rested her hand on her stomach, putting her other hand on her hip and waiting for him to finish.

“…..Obviously I have some bias now, it’s true. But simply from a logical standpoint, you wouldn’t do something so generous if you were really the horrible monsters the rumors make you out to be. Your member Laphicet in particular is so kind and innocent, and a malak at that; there’s no way he would travel willingly with someone so inhumanly evil. The other people you’re with seem friendly and reasonable enough as well, not to mention that you have an exorcist with you, someone I used to see even though I never actually had an opportunity to interact with her, and Eleanor seems to be with you entirely of her own choice, while still seeming to be the morally upstanding and righteous exorcist I always witnessed.”

“You’re right; Eleanor is stubbornly good to the core, even now, despite who she’s helping,” Velvet replied, smirking and laughing a little again. “All of us can easily overpower any number of you, and we have, even little Phi; don’t underestimate him or any of us for a second.”

“I can picture that as well,” Videl’s father said calmly, smiling back, to her disbelief. “I don’t know how Eleanor got involved with you all, and I’m not going to ask – I’m certain that all of you came from vastly different walks of life, probably from places far darker than I can even imagine… What I do know, though, is what emotions I saw and what things I heard from you today that were most definitely genuine, and because of that, I know that you are human enough that you must have a good reason for what you’re doing. Eleanor staying with you is proof of that, at the very least.”

“If you must know, Eleanor lost a duel with me and is obligated to stay by my side until her death because of the conditions we set before it,” Velvet said lightly. When the man showed no sign of anger or other response, she sighed, looking up at the ceiling absentmindedly, her eyes losing focus as she continued on vaguely. “…The Abbey is doing horrible things, is planning horrible things, some of which have already been put into motion, that a good number of the exorcists don’t even know about. On an individual level, they are for the people, and the people see them as their heroes, but the higher-ups have worse things in mind; their twisted, cruel idea of making the world “better”, of ridding the world of daemons and daemonblight. …The day that the world was filled with exorcists, the day that everyone else sees as a blessing, I lost a part of me that can never be given back, can never be healed, and for that reason, I will never forgive. For the Abbey to be created, so much had to be sacrificed; all six of us, including those we’ve taken in along the way, are a group of twisted, broken people, and the Abbey has taken something precious from all of us, whether it be a person, a sense of self, a feeling of worthiness, anything you can think of. Know these things, and take them to heart, as you continue to serve under them. Eleanor has been enlightened, seeing the things I’ve seen on our travels, and she no longer wishes to associate with an organization that causes the misery the Abbey does.”

“……I was not aware, but I cannot say I’m entirely surprised,” Videl’s father finally said, after taking a few moments to contemplate her words seriously. “Even as a praetor, of which there are few of us in comparison to the lower ranks, I felt there was much I did not know… The origins of the Abbey are shrouded in mystery, and I had the feeling that we weren’t always meant to simply destroy daemons, but that the higher powers had an eventual more elaborate purpose for us to serve. Malakhim as a species, I have never truly understood the existence of beyond figures to pray to in scripture, and needless to say we have prayed much, so I went ahead with following the Abbey protocol of having one serve me… but sometimes, a part of me wondered if there wasn’t anything wrong with it, though I couldn’t truly justify in words why there would be, so I never acted...”

Velvet looked at him seriously, having to give him some credit for being willing to admit his flaws, at least, as he had earlier. “You should know that Phi is a malak that I rescued from a praetor in the Abbey; when I first met him, he had no sense of self, he was a lifeless, emotionless husk of a person who simply did whatever I told him to, as his exorcist did. It took a while for him to become the bright, smart, kind and generous boy who saved your son today.”

“I-Is that so…”

She softened her tone at his guilt, managing a smile, her tenseness having calmed down again, despite everything.

“I’m not telling you you shouldn’t be an exorcist. You’re a good person, and a loving father, and I… I’ve… appreciated being here today. And if you really swear you don’t mean us any harm… then that’s better for the both of us. We’re trying to take back the world from the Abbey’s hands, the hands that want to crush it and meld it into something that people should never have to live in, and instead bring back a world where everyone is free to be themselves, while also being safe… where they’ll be free to spread their wings. …The world that so many of our companions, and Videl, want to live in. The world my brother wanted to live in. …The world Artorius wanted, at some point in time.”

Her eyes wavered slightly at the last statement, and the other’s widened in surprise. She wondered if he was picking up on things, and knew that this would be the time he would change his mind about letting them go, if he understood the implication of her words.

When there was nothing but silence, she continued, touching his own arm now lightly.

“…Keep being who you are, an exorcist that truly does help people; how all of them should be. Consider giving your malak the freedom to be themself, try to understand what kind of person they are, as any human would want to be treated. Those are the best things you can do… We’re going to do the rest.”

She looked at him gravely, speaking one last thing.

“…And if you’re presented with a new, powerful arte that lets you combine with your malak for extra strength, or perhaps you already know of it, don’t use it. Both you and them will die.”

At this, Videl’s father looked slightly horrified, but he eventually nodded, frowning. When he spoke, it was with a tone that told her he had taken everything she had said, and her herself, completely seriously.

“…I understand. Thank you for your words of wisdom… Lord of Calamity.”

Now it was her turn to be surprised, especially at his almost _playful_ wry smile, but eventually she smiled, truly content.

“You asked me why I told you I knew who you were,” Videl’s father said, smiling softly back. “Perhaps I simply wanted you to know that, even if everyone else is against you, I, we, are not, even if I as an exorcist don’t entirely have a reason for it, not knowing the full truth. But I also wanted to learn as much of it as I could, from you. Thank you, for both enlightening me and giving me things to think about, and for saving my son.”

“…The thanks for that should go to Phi, not me; he did all the work and is Videl’s friend. …But for the rest… sure. …And thank you… for everything.”

At Eizen’s agreeance, they made preparations to set off; Laphicet was sad, but knew it had to come sooner or later. Videl’s mother in particular implored them to stay the night at least, believing that it was too dark to travel, but Velvet was against wasting any more time than they already had: they needed to move towards Artorius’ Throne for the final battle, before the entire world was affected by the Suppression, including this innocent family. Videl’s father convinced his wife to allow them to go, understanding more than she did, and Laphicet and Eizen and Eleanor seemed to realize that he and Velvet had exchanged some important words with each other.

They were given some leftover food from the dinner, Velvet thanking the innkeeper, and Laphicet hugged Videl tightly, promising him that he would come back someday so they could have more fun together, and Videl shared the desire, wishing them luck on their journey. Other goodbyes and gratitudes were exchanged, and after both of Videl’s parents had hugged Laphicet as well with tears in their eyes (it was endearing, and she couldn’t help but smile at the sight), they set off, Velvet hanging back for one final moment.

“Good luck, and be careful,” the exorcist said quietly. “We’ll keep you in our thoughts… Show me the world you believe in.”

A pause, and then:

“…We thought of this a few years ago, and even now, I believe I still wish to go through with it: making a memorial for the children who have been lost from the Twelve Year Sickness, listed in the records. …If you would like to be a part of it, when you return, you can tell us his full name, and we’ll make sure he’s included on it.”

There was a long silence, before Velvet could finally answer.

“…………His name is Laphicet Crowe, meaning “one who lives”. …Be sure to put it here, in Reneed, in honor of your son, who was meant _to live_.”


End file.
